Climbing in the Calanques
Our next port of call on our French climbing trip was all the way down by the Med, to go climbing in the Calanques. Soaring limestone cliffs above the crystal clear sea below, what more could we ask for? Amazing food by the sea and decent weather, oh OK then!
Big cliffs climbing in the Calanques at En Vau
We had decided to stop for a quick hit at Chateauvert on the way down from the Verdon, and the climbing was excellent, but there didn’t seem much reason to linger there in between stints at world renowned venues such as the Verdon and the Calanques. We arrived in Cassis late in the afternoon, and immediately saw the pretty little towns potential, only a 20 minute drive out to where the crags are, plenty of awesome eating options with tables on the marina, and a few pretty decent boulangeries!
Climbing in the Calanques with the Med below…
For our first experience climbing in the Calanques we opted for the classic area of En Vau, having seen the pictures and read the guidebook it seemed like best bet. We heeded the warnings of leaving nothing valuable on display in your car and left the carpark for the 40minute walk to the beach, where we had a nice leisurely breakfast and took in the solitude (it wasn’t to last!)
En Vau in the Calanques
We really wanted to do 2 long routes today, as we were only spending 1 day climbing in the Calanques and we wanted to make the most of it. As Sophie was a little intimidated by the area it was up to me to lead all the pitches, which I never complain about! The two routes we did were incredibly polished as belies their classic status and the many thousands of people who had climbed the routes before us… The polish didn’t detract though and they were utterly brilliant, steep, sustained and the views exceptional. We had lunch on the now crowded beach below and after I’d eaten all the baguette I could manage, we headed up to do our second route, a quality six pitch 5+.
Climbing in the Calanques
Once the climbing had been done we swam in the (still fairly chilly) Med as the last rays of sun kept us warm, a perfect way to soothe the muscles after a day of 13 pitches in the sun! Then the long trudge back to the van before a leisurely beer on the waterfront at Cassis… I would definitely recommend the area for a climbing trip, with plenty of towns and cities nearby to occupy you too, but for us it was off to the next climbing venue!